Travel Tip Tuesday

Another quick tip today as I am still trying to recover from our amazing trip last weekend to celebrate a wonderful birthday weekend at Disney World. I have more posts to come on that, but in the meantime, my tip today is about photo pass cards. Almost every time you get your picture taken with a character, there is a photo pass photographer on hand to take your picture. Even the times we said that we only wanted them to use our camera, we almost always ended up with yet another card with pictures on it. So, first of all, to avoid the fight (and twenty photo pass cards) just have your card available when you step up to meet the characters. That is not my tip though :) My tip is to take a picture of the back of your card. The back of the card has a series of numbers and letters on the back that you will need to enter on the website when you get home so that you can see the pictures online. You don't need the actual card to view the pictures, just the number on the back. So, if you take a picture of that number you don't have to worry about misplacing your photo pass card when pulling out your park passes or fast passes throughout the day!

Quick Service Dining...not worth the money!

A while back I posted about the Dining plan and I think I mentioned that I thought that the Quick Service plan would be about a wash as far as price (you wouldn't save any money), but I thought the convenience made it worth it. I think I even said that if I had to pay for it, I would go ahead and add it just to avoid the stress of having to pull out my wallet at every meal and try to decide the cheapest option for all three of us. Well, my opinion has now changed on that. I am no longer a fan of the Quick Service Dining plan and I will explain why below.

Now, first of all, let me say that we had the plan for free during our 10 day trip in October. Of course that was worth it. Two free counter service meals and two snacks per day per person for free? Of course we enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, we liked it so much that I thought we would pay for it for our upcoming trip in December. So, I called to add it yesterday....and now I am not a fan anymore :(

First of all, the price listed is $30 per day per adult, and $9 per day per child. So, for a family of three you would expect to pay $69 a day. Well, hang on, you have to pay taxes on that. The tax rate is a whopping 13.5%, which brings our total to $78.32 per day in food. For two meals and two snacks per day? Seriously? Who eats that much food? We had a hard time using all of our snacks in October. Most days, we only used one per day unless we wanted a treat (i.e. cotton candy or candy that we didn't need). Also, as a note, the plan is changing in 2012. Soon, you will only get 1 snack per day, and I am sure the price is not going to reflect that change (I can't confirm that though).

So, let's walk through a typical meal for our family. We always go to Pizza Planet. There, each adult gets a pepperoni pizza (8.29 each) and the kids meal is 4.99. My daughter PREFERS water, so that doesn't cost anything as the restaurants give a complimentary cup of ice water. Plus, my husband and I can easily share a large coke (2.49). So, if I use the high tax rate of 13.5% (I don't know what it is in the parks) our total would be about $27.50. That is feeding each of us our own meal. If we spent that at each meal we are spending $55.00 a day in meals. That still leaves us $23 a day for snacks. The highest amount we would spend for snacks a day is $5 per person, so $15 a day. That brings us to $70 a day. We have already saved $8 a day by not getting the dining plan.

Hang on though, there is more. I mentioned what we would get at Pizza Planet on a typical trip. That is with the meal plan (that we always seem to get free in October). When we were there last June (and were not on the meal plan), our family shared two pizzas. Each pizza comes with a salad so my husband and I each had a salad and the three of us shared the two pizzas. That saves $4.99 for the kids meal that we can use later as a snack to get something else if we don't leave "stuffed". Often we can all share a pretzel (with free ice water) in the afternoon, and all be satisfied. There are many counter service meals where we can share meals. I will post on that at a later time. There were many meals where we wasted food because we just couldn't eat it all. Why pay extra to have all that food if you aren't going to eat it all?

Some people may say that you also get a refillable mug with the meal plan. Yes, you do and it really is a nice bonus. However, my family really only needs two of those. My daughter doesn't drink sodas, so all she wants is hot chocolate in the morning. I take some throw away coffee cups and my own hot chocolate packets. Then she gets some free hot water, and has her own hot chocolate. Since we aren't really at the hotel a lot, we only used the mugs in the morning with breakfast, and at night when we returned to the room. My husband is not a huge fan of drinking coke with breakfast, and is not a coffee drinker, so he doesn't use his much either. So, I would rather buy one or two out of pocket with the money I save by not getting the meal plan.

When I was talking to the reservation cast member yesterday, she kept asking me over and over are you sure you want to pay for all of these meals out of pocket? The more she asked me that question, the more determined I came to make the meals work for our family for cheaper than the cost of the meal plan. Now I may even (GASP) leave property for a meal or two. I can go to Giordanno's, McDonald's or even Olive Garden and spend the same amount I would for hamburgers and chicken nuggets at a counter service meal. I will take my coupons and plan ahead and see how much we can actually save. I love a challenge and after spending an hour on my cell phone with Disney to try to figure this out, I am up to the challenge! Bring it on!

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you are in Magic Kingdom and you are tired of the same old hamburgers or pizza, take a monorail ride over to the Contemporary and enjoy a tasty meal at the Contempo Cafe. This is a really fun place to eat and the break from the parks (and bonus monorail ride) can be just what you need to recharge your batteries without getting too far from the parks. This is an especially good choice if you are on the Dining plan. It is a great value for the plan, and the dessert choices are super tasty. They had some really big cupcakes to choose from that I had not seen in any of the other restaurants that week.

What makes this restaurant so fun is the monorail going overhead while you eat (the Cafe is right next to Chef Mickey's), along with the touch screen ordering stations. You get to walk up and custom order your whole meal, from beginning to end. My daughter especially loved that part and I have to admit that I did too! There were many options to choose from and it was definitely a step above the quick service meals offered in the parks. Definitely a tasty and fun break for us!

Travel Tip Tuesday

I have to share a tip with you today that I have mentioned in passing in a previous post. After our trip a few weeks ago, I must put a lot of emphasis on this one. We almost always stay at Pop Century and I have to say that there are never enough plugs in the room that are easily accessible for charging. I like to lay everything on either a counter or table each night and charge them together. I like all the items to be in one central place so that I don't forget them the next day. This trip we had two cell phones, plus at least one camera battery (between two cameras) charging every single night. There was no way we would have been able to charge all them as we needed to (unless we wanted them hanging out of outlets in random places around the room) without our wall adapter. We took a little square adapter that plugs into the outlet and allows you to plug in up to four items at a time. It was nice because it was a small item to pack, but saved us so much headache. It will now reside in our luggage permanently so that we have it at every hotel we go to from now on!

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you use the professional Photo Pass photographers in the parks, they will give you a little card with a number on the back. Then, every time you get another picture taken, you give the new photographer that card and your latest picture is added to the card. This is the card you will take home and use to view your pictures online. Therefore, you will need that number on the back. I suggest taking a picture of that card on your own camera. This way, if you happen to misplace that card, you will still have the number when you get home and you will be able to view your pictures on the website!

What a Magical Trip

We just got home from our trip yesterday and it was AMAZING! It was probably one of the best trips we have had yet. I am still in the middle of trying to get back in our routine and have mounds and mounds of laundry to do, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture. It is a picture of us as the First Family on October 1st at Magic Kingdom. We had the most awesome experience being able to help them open the park on the day of the 40th Anniversary Celebration. I will post more details later, but I had to get this out there in the mean time. I have a lot of posts in my head, but they will come later. In the meantime, here is our first picture of the trip! More to come soon.

Time for a snack!

Now that our annual trip is almost here, I have really started focusing on where I want to eat while we are in Disney World. Usually that means I am researching sit down restaurants and reviewing menus six months out. Well, this year we have decided to just stick with the quick service plan since it is free during our stay, and also because we are going back again in a few months. In the past, we always had the regular dining plan so our big focus each day was on our sit down dinners. We would pretty much just eat wherever for lunch and didn't look into menus too much. That is all changing this trip though. Since we will be there for 10 days, we will get really tired of hamburgers if we have to eat them twice a day! There are many options though outside of hamburgers and pizzas for counter service. So, it is my mission this week to find those options and make a plan! However, as I have started this planning, I find myself focusing more on what two snacks I will have each day. How sad is it that I am more excited about the snacks than the meals! :) So, I thought I would share with you my plans for using the snack credits today.

Let's start at Magic Kingdom. There are so many options there, but we definitely have our favorites. My hubby loves the Dole Whip floats at Aloha Isle. If you have ever been to Disney, or read any blogs or websites, you have probably heard of Dole Whips. I usually prefer just the pineapple ice cream by itself, but my hubby likes the float. He gets either vanilla or orange ice cream in pineapple juice and it definitely is pretty tasty. Another favorite snack spot in Magic Kingdom is at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. They have our favorite snack, especially during the light parade or fireworks. We love to get funnel cakes here. They are super yummy and big enough to share. They also have a super yummy frozen drink that I love called the Liberty Swirl Slush. It is a frozen drink that is a mix of blue raspberry and Fanta strawberry that is super tasty!!! This year there is a new treat in I believe Frontierland that I am super excited about as well. The Mickey shaped soft pretzels!!! I love pretzels, and eating them in the shape of Mickey is extra fun and exciting. We had these at Disneyland in March and they were fun to eat! If none of these options appeal to you, then stop by the Main Street Bakery and I am sure you can find something you will love that has been freshly baked....a gigantic and gooey cinnamon roll, a homemade sugar cookie as big as a mini pizza, or a slice of cake...there is something for everyone for sure.

On to Hollywood Studios. There aren't a lot of must haves for me here. I usually get a plain pretzel here, or one of those super popular Mickey ice cream bars since there aren't any park unique snacks that I just have to have while here. There is a fun place to stop here though. I like to walk into the Starring Rolls Cafe and browse all of the yummy pasteries and snacks here. There are muffins, bagels, etc here if you want something somewhat filling, or they also have the fun items as well...the Mickey Mouse rice krispy treats, chocolate covered marshmallows, cookies, etc. Every once in a while you also get lucky and get to watch them making some new snack. Lots of fun!

The number of snacks are almost endless at Epcot. I don't even think I could begin to mention them all. Each country has their own special treats that allow you to get a taste of their culture. I haven't even begun to try them all yet! There are two especially fun places to stop here if you want to try a lot of different things. Norway and France both have bakeries with a number of different tasty treats. Since we usually visit during the Food and Wine Festival, we get to use our snack credits at all of the festival booths and try even more tasty treats. My favorite is the pretzel dog in Germany!!! OOOHHH I so can't wait. I hope it's there this year as well. If you aren't very adventurous and don't want to use your snack credits on food from other countries, but are hungry in World showcase, never fear....America is in the middle of the countries! When you get there you can get a funnel cake, a pretzel, or popcorn to help you make it the rest of the way!

Finally is Animal Kingdom. This is another park that isn't bursting with my favorite snacks. I tend to stick to old faithful here as well. I get the Oreo ice cream sandwich or Mickey bar to get me through. Though truthfully, we aren't usually here long enough to need a lot of snacks. My daughter loves to snack here though as they always have her favorite frozen Minute Maid lemonades. She loves those things and always looks forward to them. As far as my daughter is concerned, as long as Disney keeps the Mickey bars and frozen lemonades, she will be just fine and will never go hungry! Hopefully we find some new favorites on this trip for all of us since we will each have two snacks a day. If we don't though, we all have enough favorites already so that we won't go hungry in the future!

Taking a Break Without Leaving the Parks

Ok, so it's the middle of the afternoon on a hot Florida day. You were up at the crack of dawn to get to the park at opening, you've walked at least five miles already, there have been tears, there has been arguing, there have been meltdowns, and that's just the adults. The kids are on the verge of breaking down too. So what do you do? Do you walk to the front of the park, walk to your car (or wait for a bus), load everyone up and head back to your hotel, and take several hours out of your afternoon? In my family, that answer is a definite no. This of course is a decision that varies from family to family. For some (especially in the summer when park hours are long), it truly works best for their family to leave the park and go recharge at the hotel. Our family would rather find a place to take a break inside the park and recharge in other ways. Please keep in mind when that our family goes in October when park hours are shorter and my child has never been a napper. Even as a toddler (her first trip was at 20 months) she would take a power nap and be ready to go for the rest of the day. So, she did just fine taking naps in the stroller without having to go to the resort. I know that this is definitely not the case for everyone.

So, where can you go to recharge inside of the parks? Below I will list my favorite spots in each park. Sometimes all it takes for us to feel better is a cool ice cream treat (Dole Whip float is number one on our list) or a cold coke in the shade and we are better. However, sometimes we have to find a show to escape to and get off our feet in the cool to find the energy to go on. That is what I will focus on below.

In Magic Kingdom, there are a few possibilities. One of the most obvious is the Hall of Presidents. This is a 23 minute show with pretty comfortable seats in a nice and cool theater. A bonus is that the kids get a history lesson while the adults rest their feet :) Another option is a round (or two or three) on the TTA Peoplemover. This is a pretty cool(ish) ride even on hot days and it allows a great view of Tomorrowland. Finally, if the kids are getting tired of being penned in the strollers, ride the boats over to Tom Sawyer Island and let them run while you sit on a bench in the shade and watch. On a side note, if you visit Tom Sawyer Island in the morning and find one of the paintbrushes hidden there, you get a prize when you return it to the workers at the boat dock. We did this last year and got fastpasses for our whole party to use anytime that day for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.

In Hollywood Studios, there are several ways to find a break. There are several pretty long shows here that allow you to get off your feet for a while. Even though the Indiana Jones Stunt show and Lights, Motor, Action shows are outside, they last a while so they allow you to rest your feet. If you want a long break, visit the Magic of Animation building and watch the short show of how they bring animation to life. Then walk around the building and enjoy a quiet visit with some of your favorite characters. Afterwards, do the drawing class. Our family loves this class. You get to sit at a drafting table and learn how to draw a cartoon character. The instructor walks you through drawing each feature, and at the end you have a special souvenir to take home. Priceless!

In Epcot there are obviously many ways to get off your feet. This park is filled with shows (which is a good thing because this is the park that wears me out the fastest)! If you are in Future World, go see Ellen's Energy Adventure. This is a really long show/ride, though sadly very boring to me. It has actually put me to sleep before...so I guess that is a bonus! However, if you really really need a break, this is the perfect place so that you don't have to leave the park. If you are in World Showcase, there are several shows that you can watch to rest your feet. Just to name a few, you can see one in America and China that allow you to sit for a few minutes and learn a few things in the process. Another good show is in Canada, but you have to stand for it so that fact alone keeps me from seeing it too often. It is pretty cool though because it is a 360 degree film so you see it all around you (which I guess is the reason for standing). The boat rides in Mexico and Norway are also pretty cool and last for a few minutes so they can be a quick break as well. Another plus is that there are many snack options in World Showcase so there are many options for short breaks with those.

Finally is Animal Kingdom. We haven't really had to come up with a way to take a break here since (as I have posted before) we don't spend a lot of time here. We are usually done with this park around 2:00 anyway, so leaving that one and heading somewhere else is our break :) However, I can think of a few ways that I would take a break if we stayed here longer. They have two wonderful shows at Animal Kingdom. The Legend of the Lion King and Finding Nemo are amazing (and long) shows, and they are both in dark cool theaters. So I would head there for a nice break for sure. Also, the Kilamanjaro Safaris ride is long as well so it could easily be a nice break, with a great bonus of seeing lots of cool animals along the way.

So, here are a few of my favorite ways to unwind and refresh without leaving the parks. There are probably a ton more, but this will get you started if you don't want to leave the park for a break. Happy touring!

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you have a certain building you would like to stay in, or if you have specific requests for your room, I urge you to make those requests when you book your room. This is the time to request a pack and play (Disney calls them cribs), or reserve a refrigerator, ask for a king room (often the handicap rooms), request a ground floor, or ask for a room close to the main buildings or amenities. If you request them at booking, they will be noted on your reservation. You can also call your specific hotel a few days before your check in and verify that these requests are still on your reservation. The rooms are often assigned 5 to 10 days before you check in so it is a good idea to verify these things if they are really important to you.

Also, don't be afraid to ask at check in if there are any pool view or preferred rooms available without the upgrade cost (if you reserved a standard room view). We have gotten lucky almost every time and been "upgraded" to a preferred room since the resorts weren't fully booked. It obviously won't work every time, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

Travel Tip Tuesday

While you are on Disney property, you are going to see a lot of things that you really really want to have. If you have kids, that number of things is going to double. How do you keep from spending all of you souvenir money that first day? Just say no. I know, that sounds like a "duh" moment, but when you are there it is really easy to get caught up in the moment. What we do is look in all of the fun gift shops every day, but we wait until closer to the end of our trip and do the majority of our shopping at Downtown Disney. This allows us to really think about the items that we really and truly want and since we have a Disney VISA, we buy them all at the World of Disney store and save 10%.

This trick is especially helpful with a little one. My daughter wants EVERYTHING she sees so by telling her to wait until we go to Downtown Disney, it helps us to see what she really and truly wants. Half the time she has already changed her mind, or simply forgotten about half the items she thought she had to have earlier in the week. Since we make her use her own money for the bulk of her souvenirs, it also helps her to budget her money and see how much those little things really add up to in the end.

One word of advice though...not everything is available at Downtown Disney. If it is a Disney World t-shirt, or a stuffed Mickey Mouse that you see in multiple gift shops, it is probably going to be there. However, most of the park specific merchandise is not sold there. For example, that Magic Kingdom T-shirt, or the African drum sold specifically in Animal Kingdom, are not going to be available. So, if you are in a park and see something that is probably park specific, go ahead and buy it if you know it is something you really want. However, don't carry it around all day long. If you are staying on property, have it sent back to your hotel. It will be available for pick up in the resort gift shop the next night. If you are not staying on property, or it is your last day, have it sent to the package pickup area at the front of the park and pick it up on your way out. The cashiers at the shops can help you with the details on these processes.

Travel Tip Tuesday

I was reading one of my favorite Disney guide books the other day and for the first time I can ever remember, I disagreed with something that I read. They were talking about the best shoes to wear for touring the parks. They actually alluded to the fact that the only good option was tennis shoes. I so disagree. The best option is whatever you are used to and the ones that feel good on your feet.

So, if you wear tennis shoes all the time, yes, they are the best option. They give good support, they are designed to handle shock, and they last for many many miles. Also, they protect your feet from the many times in which you will be run over by a stroller (not your own) throughout the day.

HOWEVER, if you are not used to wearing tennis shoes and you try to wear them for a week of walking miles upon miles every day, you WILL regret it. I fall into this camp. I am definitely a flip flop girl. Living in the south, I wear them daily from March until November. I will wear them until my toes get frosty :) That being said, since we go to Disney in October, I am still in flip flop mode in my life. So if I go to Disney and try to wear tennis shoes, my feet hurt. BAD. My toes are screaming by the end of the day. So, what I do is try wearing tennis shoes a little bit before our trip just to get my toes used to it. Then I take my tennis shoes with us on the trip and wear them a few days of the trip. However, most every other day I wear my flip flops around the parks.

Now, to clarify, I am not talking the cheap flops you get for $4 at Old Navy. I couldn't handle that. I wear Nike flip flops every day. They have really cushioned bottoms and the thong part is very comfy and doesn't cause blisters. My whole family actually wears these flops. My husband doesn't even take breaks during the trip to wear tennis shoes. He wears his flip flops every day. So far, none of us have regretted our choices. You have to wear what is comfortable on your feet every day at home in order to be comfortable at Disney. Most of all, remember that Disney is not the place to break in new shoes. Take old comfy shoes, and go ahead and pack some blister band aids and moleskin just in case. That heat and humidity can still cause blisters with all of that walking with even the most broken in pair of shoes.

Travel Tip Tuesday

I have mentioned before that you can actually save money on a Disney vacation, and have mentioned bringing your own food for breakfast. This post is to give you a few very specific examples of how this can work for you even if your room does not have a kitchenette.

As I have mentioned, we always stay at Value resorts, mainly at Pop Century. Those rooms do not have anything that helps you prepare foods. There are no in room coffee makers, no microwaves, and no mini fridges (unless you pay the $10 a day rental fee). However, it is still very possible to make breakfast every day. The food courts have almost anything you need to make a quick cheap breakfast.

Most food courts have toasters and/or toaster ovens. These allow for toasting of bagels, toast, english muffins, or pop tarts. We often take a package or two of bagels, a couple of bananas or apples, and a bag of donuts or muffins, and that is what we eat every day. I have also taken my own throw away bowls and spoons before with mini boxes of cereal. You can purchase small containers of milk in the food court and save quite a bit over the cost of buying a whole meal in the parks.

As for drinks, there are several options as well. I try to take a couple of Juicy Juice drink boxes and drink one each morning. They are warm, but at least I start the day with a little juice. Another choice is to purchase a refillable mug at the beginning of the trip. You can fill it up as many times as you want during your stay and the options with it seem endless....there are soda machines, coffee, tea machines, hot chocolate, or of course water. Juice is not an option however, unless you buy a bottle from the food court. If you want cold juice, bring your own boxes like I do, get ice from the machine in your refillable mug, and poor your juice box over the ice. One final option for drinks is to bring your own hot chocolate packets or Starbucks via packets and get hot water out of the coffee machine (you will need your own cup for this though).

While we are on the subject of beverages, if you are big coffee drinker, know that the coffee isn't the best in the world. There aren't a lot of options either. There is only one kind to choose from, and the creamers are just basic. If you are like me and enjoy flavored coffee, bring your own coffee creamer from home as well. If you are enjoy tea, they do have a tea machine that has a few different options. I remember something about Green Tea and something with lemon I believe (not a tea drinker myself, but I am sure most of you who are know the square tea machine I am talking about as I have seen it in a few restaurants in the area).

So, here are a few ways to save a few bucks on breakfast at Disney. I myself can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on breakfast since we don't like to eat big meals in the morning. We would rather have something basic, then be ready to eat a yummy lunch earlier in the day. Therefore, we bring our breakfast from home and save the money for bigger and better meals :)

Travel Tip Tuesday

To make the time go faster, find a fun way to help the kids countdown the days to the trip. We have used a few different methods before (as I have mentioned in a previous post), but our favorite way is the countdown chain. Each year around three months out, we pull out the construction paper and stapler and make a chain. The chain creates a visual for kids (and me) that helps show how we are slowly, but steadily, growing closer to our trip. I am always looking for a new way to make the time pass, so if anyone has a fun thing you do in your house, please share it!

Travel Tip Tuesday

When you are making out your packing list, don't forget all of your chargers. If you are like us, you will have two cell phone chargers, two camera chargers, an MP3 charger, and a DS charger. If you take a laptop, you may have to charge it as well. With the new phones going through batteries so quickly, and due to the fact that we take a hundred pictures and videos per day, we have to charge at least three things every night. Depending on the room you are in, the number of outlets is minimal, so I would suggest sticking in a small power cord as well. You won't regret it I promise!

Travel Tip Tuesday

If you are staying on Disney property and have your own car, drive it to Hollywood Studios or Epcot. It is much faster (especially if you get there at park opening). The bus stops at Epcot can be quite a haul at the end of the day (especially if you are staying at a hotel that has it's stop at the second set of bus stops....i.e. Pop Century).

If you are going to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom however, I definitely suggest taking Disney transportation. Animal Kingdom does not open the parking lot until right before park opening (we have found this out the hard way one too many times), but the buses run about an hour before park opening. So, unless you like sitting in the car waiting for the parking attendants, take the bus. At Magic Kingdom, if you drive yourself and park in the parking lots, you have to take either the ferry or monorail over to the main gates. However, the Disney buses drop you off right outside the turnstiles. This is a huge time saver in the morning of course, but also at the end of the long day when you have little ones who you have to literally carry out of the park.

Happy traveling!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Those of you who have ever visited Orlando know that there are often pop up showers in the afternoon. Guess what most people do when that happens? They run into the closest gift shop and spend a lot of money on a piece of plastic to keep them dry. Now don't get me wrong, the Mickey Mouse on the back is cute, but let's face it...those ponchos are overpriced. Why would I want to pay close to $10 for a poncho (I don't know the exact price) when I can buy ten for that price at home?

We go to the camping section of Wal Mart before each trip and buy the "travel" ponchos for .88 instead. These are very lightweight and compact and easily fit into any bag. In fact, my husband will often stick them in one of his pockets on his cargo shorts. So, what we do is buy several before our trips, then stick a couple in our backpacks and forget about them. Then when it rains, or when you ride a water ride, they are ready to pull out. Since they are so cheap, we can just throw them away once we use them. However, they are thin enough that they dry quickly so sometimes we throw them back in our bag for one or two more uses.

We use ours a few more times than just when it rains though. My dear husband does not like to get wet on the water rides. He wears a poncho on every ride that has the potential to make him wet. A great thing about these ponchos is that they open up to be pretty big. My husband holds all of our phones and our bag underneath the poncho as well to keep them dry. A very nice bonus for me!

One final point, if you do pack ponchos, don't forget to pack one for your stroller if you have one. The last thing you want is to have to place a child or your bags in a stroller that is soaking wet. If it looks like rain before you get in line for a ride or a show, go ahead and use the poncho to cover the stroller just in case. You won't be sorry if it rains!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Getting around Disney property using only Disney transportation can be a little challenging without a little bit of planning. One of the most important things to remember about Disney buses is that they do not go from resort to resort. Therefore, if you want to have dinner in a resort that you are not staying in, you must first go to a theme park and then transfer to another bus. For example, if you are staying at an All Star resort and have a breakfast at Chef Mickey's, you cannot get there on one bus alone. You will either need to pay for a cab, or take a bus to Magic Kingdom (the closest park to the Contemporary Resort) and then either walk or take the monorail to the resort for your meal. This takes a little extra time, so please allow for extra time before your reservation time. The concierge at the hotel can help you determine how much time to allow to get to your destination.

The best advice I can give for meals inside of resorts that you are not staying in, is to take a bus (or boat, monorail, etc) to the closest park and then catch another bus to the resort you are trying to get to. Keep in mind, with the transfers it could potentially take an hour to get to your dining reservation. This is the longest time I have had to date, and sometimes it can be a lot shorter if you hit all of the buses just right.

One final tip. Not only do buses NOT run from resort to resort, but they also do NOT run from Downtown Disney to any of the four major theme parks. Just something else to keep in mind when planning out your transportation during your trip!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Did you know that you can use fastpasses even after the scheduled time printed on the pass? For example, if your return time is 4:05 to 5:05 for Winnie the Pooh, you can use that fastpass anytime that day after 4:05. As long as you return sometime that same day after the first printed time, you can still use your fastpass (the second time may as well not even exist to most cast members). So, what we do is make sure we get a new fastpass at the first chance we can, even if we haven't ridden Winnie the Pooh yet so that we can get more rides in each day, and minimize our wait times. There have been times we have had three or four valid fastpasses to choose from. This helps minimize walking back and forth across the parks, and allows us more time on rides, and less time in lines. So, first thing in the morning, get a fastpass for one of your must do rides, then go get in line for another one that will get busy quickly (this is a must do for Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios...send someone to get fastpasses for everyone, while the rest of your party heads to Tower of Terror or Aerosmith).

Travel Tip Tuesday

We had an exciting quick trip to the World last weekend. It was a very exciting trip for me as we finally became annual pass holders. With several trips planned in the next year, it was an easy decision and something I have always wanted to do. I still can't believe I have an annual pass!!! That is not the tip this week though :) The tip includes meeting the Princesses and Mickey Mouse in the new Town Square Exposition Hall at Magic Kingdom. We went on a Saturday so the crowds were pretty large (at least in comparison to what we are used to as normal October visitors). We wanted to meet Mickey, but the lines were pretty long. We had decided to watch the Light Parade on Main Street in front of Tony's Town Square so that we could make a quick exit after the parade. While we were waiting we noticed the wait times to meet Mickey and the Princesses dropped down to five minutes each. So, as soon as the parade was over we hurried in and were second in line for the Princesses. After meeting them we hopped over to the Mickey line, which was already about 15 minutes. What I suggest doing is heading up to get a fastpass to meet Mickey about an hour before the parade starts (use the awesome app Lines to keep tabs on fastpass return times). Then once the parade is over, get in line for the Princesses, then use your fastpass to meet Mickey. You should be in and out of both within 15 to 20 minutes.

Travel Tip Tuesday

When you go to Disney, you want to have a bag that is easy to carry, and one that you can comfortably carry all day long. It also has to be big enough to hold all of your things that you just HAVE to have, yet easy enough to comfortably hold in your lap on all of the rides. I found the perfect bag (for me). I love the cinch sacks. I have used one the last two trips and can't imagine how I ever managed without one before. They are so comfy to carry and the weight is easily distributed across my whole back so my shoulders don't hurt at the end of the day. The one I found for our Disneyland trip was the best ever!!!! It had a lot of small zipper compartments that held all of my small things on the outside so I wasn't digging all day long for sunscreen, my camera, or antibac. This link isn't the exact one I had, but it is pretty similar. Go get one if you are heading to the parks soon!!!!

Travel Tip Tuesday

Did you know that you can take in a small soft sided cooler to any of the Disney parks? You can put snacks and bottles of water (no glass) in it and keep them handy to avoid costly snacks during the day. However, if you do not have a stroller to put this bag on, I do not recommend doing this. Instead, pack a few snacks in your backpack and go to any counter service restaurant and ask for a free cup of water. This way the water is cold and refreshing and it tastes better than the warm stuff you get out of most of the fountains.

Travel Tip Tuesday

I am going to attempt to start a new trend on my blog beginning today. My plan is to post a quick and easy Disney travel tip every Tuesday. Hope they help!

Today's travel tip is simple. As soon as you know when you are going to Disney, call and make the reservation. You only have to pay $200 for a deposit if you book a package, or pay the equivalent of one night of the stay if you book a room only reservation. Then, sit back and watch for deals. Whenever a good deal comes out, all you have to do is call and have your reservation updated with the deal. Your room is already guaranteed and you will get the deal. You can change your package anytime up to 45 days out from your vacation. Plus, if you only pay the deposit, you can call at anytime and make payments to your vacation, with the final payment being due at 45 days before check in for your vacation.

Quick Service Disney Dining Plan...a new persepective

Well, until a few months ago, I always said I would probably never purchase the quick service dining plan. I could not see the "value" in it. I mean realistically, at every meal we are not going to be able to get our money's worth out of the plan. Our family would not order dessert at every meal, and usually we can get by sharing some meals among the three of us. So, based on this information, when I look at old receipts from past trips, I can't see how we would spend $35 per adult and $12 for my child in food every single day. Seriously, $82 a day for food when I can get a whole weeks worth of groceries for that at home? It can't be worth the value.

Well, after our trip to Disneyland, we discovered a whole new definition and appreciation for the word value when it comes to Disney dining. Our new interpretation for the word is based on convenience and the ability to plan ahead for all dining expenses. The three of us ate several counter service meals at Disneyland. Each meal we usually shared two adult meals between the three of us, and in some cases one adult and one child meal. This also meant a free cup of ice water for my daughter, and a shared large drink (with no ice) between my husband and myself. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't feed three of us for less than $30 a meal. Ouch. It was painful to pull out that wallet every time and spend that much for either two burgers or two slices of pizza. Plus we were having to agree on a common meal for everyone so someone was always compromising something on the meal choice. Plus, a little while later, one of us would be hungry for a snack. Those were all around an extra $3.00 each. So add those to the other two meals and we spent a minimum of $66 a day on food (not counting our breakfast).


After a few meals, I was desperately wishing we were back in Disney World on past trips where I could just simply swipe a card and the food was "magically" mine. At least it felt magical since I had long ago paid for that meal and I didn't have to worry about how much that meal was. I also didn't have to think, ok, if I choose to add an order of french fries, does that mean I can't get that one last souvenir I want?


When we are on the Dining plan, I know exactly how much all of our meals are going to cost ahead of time and that is one less thing I have to worry about on our magical escape from reality. I have already budgeted that fixed amount and paid for it before I even left the house. So, since my room has already been paid for, along with all of my food, all I have to worry about is expenses for my treasures, and gas to get back home. I will take that mentality any day. The truth is, when I go to Disney, I 100% escape from reality. I get away from it all. This is one more reason I choose the Dining plan. I can eat wherever I feel like at that moment, and not have to worry about how much it is going to cost me. I can walk up, order whatever, and maybe even treat myself to a tasty dessert every now and then. Goodness knows I will walk it off before the day is over!

So, in closing, I have already added the quick service plan to our upcoming October trip. Don't get me wrong, I am hoping against hope that Disney will continue their trend of offering free dining in the fall and we will keep our trend alive and get free dining for the sixth year in a row. However, if they don't give it to me free, I will still happily pay for the plan. With two counter service meals a day, two snacks a day, and a free refillable mug for each of us at our hotel, I think we will get our "value" out of it. It may not be monetary value, but we will definitely value the fact that we can pre-budget our trip and enjoy any food we want, whenever we want it, on our trip.

Disneyland vs Disney World...which is better?

I did it!!! I finally took the plunge and took an airplane ride across country for the trip of my life. As a frequent visitor to Disney World, I have always wanted to make the trip to California to see where it all began. I wanted to see the only park that Walt Disney ever walked, to see the original park that started it all. However, as a very nervous flier, I never thought I could do it. Finally, my husband had three free flights and convinced me to give it a try. When else would we be able to fly all three of us to California for free? The free flights, along with the free car rental let us know that this was our chance. So, I went to the doctor, got a prescription to help me on the flight, and off we went. From the minute I stepped on the plane I knew it was all going to be worth it....and it was. The whole trip was amazing and I am so glad I faced my fears and made the choice to go. I loved every minute of the trip.

So, based on the fact that at least ten people had "warned" me before the trip that I would be disappointed, I didn't have high expectations for the parks. However, from the minute I walked through the turnstiles, I was in awe. I felt the magic as soon as we crossed under the train station. It was so wonderful to see my daughter holding her Daddy's hand, and literally running down Main Street with excitement. She couldn't wait to round that corner and see that castle. Until we rounded that corner, I felt right at home. Everything was so similar to Magic Kingdom in Florida. Then I saw the castle. Was I seeing things? It looked so small. Was that it? Maybe we were just too far away. Then we got closer, and realized, no it was really just a small castle. However, as I got closer and realized that I could actually walk through the castle and see the story of Sleeping Beauty unfold as we went through it, I realized that I loved it even more than the bigger, more regal one in Florida. I mean, I was walking through a castle "built for a Princess". How cool is that? It was the first of just a few differences between the two parks that I actually ended up loving after I finished analyzing the differences.

Another wonderful surprise was seeing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Alice In Wonderland in Fantasyland. These are the rides that scream Disney to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the roller coasters and thrill rides at some theme parks, but nothing compares to these rides at Disney. I love getting in a little car and riding through a story while fun and familiar music plays in the background. Some of my favorite rides (at either park) are Peter Pan, it's a small world, Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, and Winnie The Pooh. Of course, you have to add in Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain as well, though these are more about fun than stories. These are all true Disney magic in my mind. Nothing compares!!! Luckily all of my favorites, and more, were at Disneyland so we had no shortage of fun rides. Now if they would only build a Matterhorn and Indiana Jones ride at Disney World my vacations there would be perfect!

One of my favorite differences in the two parks was that Disneyland still has the Penny Arcade and Main Street Cinema on Main Street. These were two of my favorite things to do when I was younger at the Magic Kingdom and I was very sad to see them go away in recent years. It was so much fun to share these areas with my daughter. She loved taking a late afternoon break and watching Steam Boat Willie in the Cinema. Hopefully one day those great treasures will return to Disney World again. It is sad to me that they have been replaced with shopping venues.

One of the other big differences was the close proximity of all the parks. It was really wild to be able to stand at the ticket booths and see the entrances to both Disneyland and California Adventure, along with Downtown Disney. It was nice to be able to walk from park to park without spending precious time on buses. Also, one night we walked to Downtown Disney for dinner, then walked right back to the parks for more fun. It was an added bonus. Of course, I don't think I have ever walked as much at Disney World (especially since we walked from our hotel every morning), but there were enough ways to rest our legs throughout the day. It was nice to be able to hop between the parks to try to hit all the big headliner rides before the crowds got too crazy. It actually felt like the two parks were one at times.

So, why did everyone think I would be disappointed? I spent a lot of time trying to figure that out. I mean I thought it was awesome. I thought it was charming. I thought it was wonderful. Who are these people? Why would they think that? Then I really thought about it, and may have come to a conclusion. Maybe those people look for something different in a park. Maybe they look for thrills, or for roller coasters. Maybe they find the traditional Disney type rides boring. Maybe they never stopped to think about the fact that this was the only park that Walt Disney ever walked. These are all the reasons I came up with anyway. However, these are all the reasons that I loved Disneyland. Now, granted, I could not spend the 10 days there that we usually do at Disney World, but I would love to go back one day and enjoy the charm. Until then, I will spend all of my vacations at Disney World enjoying all of their extra parks and fun that they have to offer. I would still pick Florida over California (and not just due to the four hour plane ride), but I know that I won't be disappointed whenever we do decide to go across country again!

Heading to Disneyland!!!!

Well, in a mere two weeks we take off to Disneyland for our first time. We are surprising our seven year old with the trip and I know it is going to be a wonderful trip full of amazing memories. That being said, I am somehow a little dreadful of the trip to come. I know that probably sounds totally ridiculous considering my passion for all things Disney, but I am totally overwhelmed. Now, I can plan a book to Disney World with absolutely no problems. We have been several times and I pretty much know all the planning secrets and know what we want to do each trip. That is totally not the case with this trip. I feel like a fish out of water. We have been planning it for months, but yet I feel like I don't really know what to expect. I can't find the extensive planning websites for Disneyland like the ones I frequent for my daily Disney World fix. There is no wonderful Moms panel to seek planning advise from. I haven't found a lot of websites that have dining reviews on them either so I don't really know for sure where we want to eat while on property. Plus, I don't really know a lot of people who have been there to bounce information and ideas off of. I feel like a Disney first timer again!!!!

Another thing that is putting a damper on my excitement is the fact that I have heard from multiple people how "disappointed" I am going to be by the parks. Now granted, these people all seem to have the same commonality in that they haven't been since before California Adventure came along, however, it is still hard not to let those comments get to me. Maybe that will be a good thing though and my expectations will be lower and therefore the trip will be even more exciting since the experience will be better than my expectations. That is my hope anyway.

Another issue for me is that I am not a good flier. I have done alright the last three flights to Orlando, but the first one was with medication, and those flights are only two hours long. This one is going to be four hours and 45 minutes there, and four hours to get home. That is a long time. I did go this week and get a prescription for some "happy pills" for the long flight, but I am still very anxious about the flight. I get very claustrophobic on the plane, and start freaking out over the thought that I can't get off. Hopefully the medicine my doctor gave me will help with that. Otherwise my dear husband will have his hands full trying to take care of me and our seven year old. It is going to take a lot to keep us busy!

My final issue is that we are keeping this a surprise from our daughter. She will not know until her Grandma gets here to take us to the airport and we load the car. She is going to be beyond excited. Ironically about a month ago we were just talking about someone who was taking a surprise trip and she mentioned that she wanted us to surprise her one day with a trip. Little did she know that we were already planning to do just that. So, she will be excited, she will love it, and the surprise will be worth the months of of self-imposed silence to give this surprise to her. However, one of the best things about our yearly trips is the fact that our family plans it together. We talk about what we want to do, where we want to stay, and where we want to eat. We love it! That is making this one a little harder to get excited about. On the plus side, I guess we can have these conversations on the LOOOONNNGGGG plane ride and should have it all planned by the time we touch down.

I haven't even made a packing list for the trip. Guess I had better sign off and get started on that!!!! I hope to have some fun posts in a few weeks to let you know how this trip turns out. With me being the ultimate planner, I am very stressed about all the lack of planning going into this trip. Will let you know how all of that turns out for me. Maybe it will change my approach to all future Disney trips in the future :)

Via Napoli Review

Well, it has been four months in the making, but I am finally posting my review of Via Napoli. Let me start by saying I was very excited about the opening of this restaurant. Our family loves all things Italian, with pizza being our absolute favorite meal. So that being said, you can imagine how thrilled I was that this restaurant was going to be opening mere weeks before our trip. So, I spent months in the spring and summer checking for updates on this restaurant and counting down the days until I could make our reservations. When the big day came, I woke up early and called to make our reservation. Luckily I was able to get the time and day I wanted so I was thrilled. The only thing left to do was wait for the big day to come.

That day finally came and I was very excited and very much looking forward to our dinner that night. Ironically, that day my brother and sister-in-law ate there for lunch as a walk in without knowing that we were eating there that night for dinner. When we ran into them they went on and on about how good their lunch was and how stuffed they were. To say the least, they were very impressed with Via Napoli. That just added to my excitement. I was looking forward to it even more now that I had actually talked to someone who had eaten there. This was going to be a good meal.

So we checked into the restaurant at our scheduled time and had to wait about 10 minutes for our table. This was fine though as it gave us time to soak in the beautiful details of the new restaurant. It was a very bright, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere. The decor was very nice, and had a lot of touches that I can imagine were good representations Italy. If you haven't seen pictures of the brick ovens they use, I have to say that they are pretty cool. So far, I was impressed.

So we were seated and given a menu by our friendly server. I decided pretty quickly on the chicken parmigiana. I was disappointed that it didn't come with a salad, but decided to go with it nonetheless. My husband wanted a pizza with pepperoni and sausage, but there wasn't one on the menu (I can't remember which one he settled on now). My seven year old decided on a pepperoni pizza as well. So, we placed our orders and proceeded to soak up the fun atmosphere. After a few minutes the server brought the pizzas. When we asked about mine, we were told that they bring the food as it is ready, and not all at once (apparently this is the way they do it in Italy). So, I sat there and watched the two of them start their meals. My husband thought the pizza was pretty good (though we both admitted that the pizza we had eaten that day for lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express was actually better). The pizzas are cooked in the brick ovens which makes the crust pretty tasty....though our daughter would disagree. She did not like it at all. She had not had this type of pizza before and thought it tasted burnt. Once she saw the brown spots on the bottom of the crust, there was no convincing her otherwise. She only had a few bites.

Luckily my dinner finally showed up and she was able to share it with me. I liked the chicken portion pretty well. It was very moist and the sauce was very good. However, the noodles came as a fried lump. It was not at all what I was expecting and I did not like the texture of it. My daughter thought they were pretty cool and ate most of them for me. I think this was the first meal that I was actually looking forward to seeing the dessert menu since I actually had a little room left to eat it!

So, the dessert menu is delivered. I anxiously look at it hoping for something extra yummy and chocolaty...

No such luck. I didn't see anything that I just had to have. However, I finally settled on the Tiramisu and my husband went with the Zeppole di Catarina ( fried ricotta cheese with whipping cream and chocolate sauce). I think my daughter had a cookie, but don't hold me to that :) When the desserts came I was very intrigued with the presentation of my husbands dessert, and it actually looked quite tasty despite how disgusting I thought it sounded! So, was dessert better than the entrees? Yes, and no. My daughter did not like her dessert, and mine was very mushy. I am a texture person and couldn't get past the sliminess to enjoy the taste. Surprisingly, my husband's meal was the big hit. Those fritters were actually really good, and a lot of fun to dip in the chocolate and whipping cream. So, we all shared his!

In summary, the meal was good. It wasn't Disney great and if I was paying out of pocket, I definitely would not go back. However, if we were on the dining plan and couldn't get into one of our favorite restaurants I would give it another shot.

Can You Really Save Money at Disney?

Yes you can. I know that most people don't put the words saving money along with Disney, but with a little bit of planning, you most certainly can save some money on your vacation. Now don't get me wrong, the savings are not going to be monumental, but a little bit goes a long way. Short of winning a free trip or some other contest, the trip itself is still going to cost a decent amount. There are not a lot of discounts to be had out there for Disney itself, unless of course you just love sitting through time share spiels and wasting precious hours of your vacation. If that sounds like a fun day to you, then those deals can be found all over Orlando. If that is not your ideal way to save money, I have a few more that will help soften the blow of the cost.
It is possible to save money on Disney tickets themselves. The best way to get these deals is to head over to mousesavers.com and sign up for their monthly newsletter. In it, there is usually a link to buy park passes at a discount. Sometimes you can also get discounts by using a travel agent, though we have not gone that route since for me the planning of the trip is almost as exciting as the trip itself.
So, there are ways to save a little money on the tickets before you go. What are some other ways? Making a list of everything you will need before the trip and buying it ahead of time can save you a lot just by being able to avoid buying things on Disney property. It is an obvious no brainer that things are going to be a lot higher on property than they would be at your local Wal Mart. So, make a list, and check it twice to avoid forgetting the little things and avoid using precious souvenir money on small things like shampoo or diapers.
One of the biggest expenses once you get on property is food. Everyone has to eat, and Disney knows that. Therefore, the prices are not going to be cheap. Who wants to leave property to eat since that will take away from precious park time (or sleep time in the mornings). So, to alleviate some of the cost, take as much food as you can from home. Even though we have been on the dining plan the last five trips, we still had to cover one meal a day (it covers one sit down and one counter service meal a day). The way we make the best use of the plan is to use it for lunch or dinner, and cover breakfast on our own. We buy muffins, bagels, or donuts before we leave home and eat those every day. The food court has toaster ovens that everyone can use so we toast our bagels when needed and enjoy a quick, cheap meal before heading out to the parks. I think we spent $12 at our local grocery store before we left last year for breakfast foods, juice boxes and small paper plates and that covered our breakfast for the three of us all 11 days of our trip. If we would have bought our breakfast on property every day it would have easily been $10 a day minimum. A bonus was that when we came home, we had all that empty room in our suitcase for extra souvenirs :)
Speaking of souvenirs, if you have small children plan ahead and take small toys to keep them busy. Surprise them with a small, cheap toy that you have bought on clearance at the local Disney or dollar store when they are asking for the $30 doll that they just have to have and it will alleviate some of the begging. If your kids are like mine, they are also going to want that $15 light up toy when the nighttime parade starts. Have some light up glow bracelets/necklaces ready instead. They will enjoy the new toy, plus appreciate the fact that all the other kids around them are asking where they got them since no one else has them. My $1.00 investment last year was well worth it!
One final way to save money is to make the most out of the dining plan. I have talked about this in the past, but the basic plan allows for one counter service meal per day per person. The counter service meals themselves are pretty big, especially since they include an entree, side, dessert and drink for adults. For me personally, this is more food than I can eat at most of the restaurants. On our last trip, my husband and I started sharing meals. We would either order one adult entree and one children's entree, or two adult entree's and all three of us would share all of the food. This not only eliminated a lot of wasted food, it also helped us to "bank" some meals to use on our last day and for a few quick breakfasts through the week. It was a win win for us.
So, here are a few relatively easy ways to save a few dollars on a Disney trip. There are several more ways out there. I will try to post them another time since I have rambled on for so long here. If anyone else has ideas on how to save a Disney dime, I would love to hear them!